Longfellow Names New San Diego Head – San Diego Business Journal

SAN DIEGO – Longfellow Real Estate Partners has named a new managing director of the Boston-based company’s San Diego operations.
Peter Fritz replaces Nick Frasco, who was promoted to partner, West Division, where he oversees Longfellow’s growth throughout the Western U.S.

Fritz takes over Longfellow’s San Diego operations at a time when the life science real estate market is coming off a slow year.

“It’s no secret that the last 18 months have been tough,” Fritz said.
Vacancy rates for life science space in San Diego had risen to a countywide average of 12.4% at the end of 2023, with the vacancy rate reaching 28.5% in Sorrento Valley, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

The commercial real estate brokerage projected that “the significant decline in venture capital investment, layoffs from large life science users, and the absence of banks wiling to fund development loans will temper development.”

Even so, Fritz said that “our portfolio is stabilized with high occupancy.”

Strong Ecosystem of Life Science Buildings

When Longfellow entered the San Diego market in November 2018, the company went on a buying spree, scooping up office property and converting it to life science.

According to the company’s website, Longfellow has a San Diego portfolio of more than 4 million square feet.

Among its key San Diego holdings are the 515,354-square-foot SOVA Science District in Sorrento Valley and the 298,104-square-foot Biovista life science campus in Sorrento Valley that includes the California English restaurant by celebrity chef Richard Blais.

The company in September will complete Bioterra, a 323,403-square-foot life science campus in Sorento Mesa.

“We’re still very focused on the core market – Torrey Pines, UTC, Sorrento Mesa, Sorrento Valley,” Fritz said, adding that he is optimistic about the region’s life science industry’s prospects for growth.

“Certainly, long term, we’re very bullish on San Diego and on life science and life science in San Diego,” Fritz said. “There’s a lot of excitement that the later part of this year, going into 2025 is going to be really strong. From a commercial real estate perspective, there’s still some challenges to overcome.”

Overall, Fritz said that, “The science and innovation and the demand for new medicines is unchanged.”

San Diego is faring better than some of the other life science markets, Fritz said.

“There’s a strong ecosystem for the startups all the way to big pharma,” Fritz said, adding that he expects to see more partnerships between startup companies and big pharmaceutical companies.”

Fritz joined Longfellow in June 2019 as director of project management and development in San Diego and was promoted to senior director of development before becoming managing director.

Before he came to Longfellow, Fritz was vice president of Project Management Advisors, Inc. in the San Francisco Bay area.

Longfellow Real Estate Partners
FOUNDED: 2009
HEADQUARTERS: Boston
CEO: Adam Sichol
BUSINESS: real estate investment
EMPLOYEES: 200+
CONTACT: 918-838-7390
WEBSITE: www.lfrep.com
NOTABLE: Longfellow Real Estate Partners has invested in life science clusters across the U.S. and United Kingdom